Taylor Fritz says Grand Slam finals run is ‘repeatable’ | ATP Tour

Taylor Fritz

Fritz says Grand Slam finals ‘repeat’

American shows well in his two weeks in New York

September 09, 2024

Fresh off his first Grand Slam final, Taylor Fritz is confident it won’t be his last.

Despite his failed bid to become the first US Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003, the Californian believes he is capable of similar deep runs in the future.

“It’s a great feeling that I’ve reached this point, I know that I’m playing well, but I’m playing within myself, and I feel like it’s multiplying,” he said.

Fritz fell to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after a strong run to his first major final, including wins over top 10 stars Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud.

“I think the big thing is that I played hard this week, but I played a lot within myself. “I don’t think at any point, I was like, wow, I’m playing unbelievable, or I’m playing crazy,” he said.

“I know there is still a lot to be done. And something I’ve said throughout my career, whether it was when I won my first ATP point or won my first challenge or made my first round of 16 or whatever, I’ve always said that if I do something once, I feel more confident that I can do it again. “

Fritz was quick to praise Sinner, who now leads the Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-1. Soni was in control of the game, leaving Fritz with no chance to come back.

“He is the best player in the world right now. My plan A is not working. The plan B that I go back to is usually going to be like bring everything, be a little safer, grind it out,” he said.

“That works, as well as my work, against a lot of other players, but against him, I try to slow him down, not be aggressive, and he will abuse me a lot less.”

He also admitted that Sinner was a much improved player since they started playing in the round of 16 at Indian Wells in 2021. “I can find myself in a lot of comeback games that have just played for the first time. I felt like I could score myself from his first serve every time. Then it was very easy to hurt him down, too. So he’s very fast, he’s very good outside the corners. His performance is very good now.”

Fritz said he was not disappointed by the Grand Slam final, saying he was more nervous about the All-American semi-final with Frances Tiafoe on Friday night.

“I was very nervous going into the semi final. “I didn’t feel nervous going into this game like I did in the semi finals,” said Fritz.

“So I thought emotionally, obviously the final of the US Open, I want to win it, it’s a really big moment. But I felt like I was going to be okay in the mood, because I knew it couldn’t be worse. It was before my semifinal, and I found a way to get through that.”

The 26-year-old beat No. 8 Casper Ruud and No. 4 Alexander Zverev en route to the final. He was happy about his good run in the majors but also showed disappointment and hurt feelings after the loss.

“Obviously there’s a lot of positives, and if I get time to recover, I’ll be happy to get to the finals and stuff like that.

“But right now I’m disappointed with the way many things on the field (went), the way I played, I hit some shots. It sucks. I was disappointed with the way I played. I feel like I almost let a lot of people down.”

Fritz will now focus on representing Team World in the Laver Cup in Berlin from 20-22 September. He has a 44-17 win/loss record this season. He also jumped to fifth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as he looks to return to the Nitto ATP finals for a second time.